5 Literary Writings Related to Settlement and Nationalism in Australian Literature

Md Samsujjaman

About the Chapter:

The module Literary Writings Related to Settlement and Nationalism in Australian Literature deals with a critical overview of Australian literature to examine how the themes of settlement and nationalism have reflected in the different literary genres written in 19th & 20th century. It also deals with the literature of Australia, which mainly maps the picture of the lives and experiences of indigenous and settled people to show how they have contributed for the development of national consciousness and modernization of the Australian nation through producing different genres of literature. Moreover, the module explicates how the distinctive culture, tradition, history and geographical elements depicted in the different genres of Australian literature which became important elements to develop national consciousness among the Australians.

Part – I; Settlement in Australia

According to statistical data, 97% of the total, Australians were immigrant people, who settled in the different parts of Australia from the whole world. They came Australia in searching of resources and markets to output their products in the new places of Australia after the technological and industrial revolution and advancement in Europe. It is recorded that British officials came Australia first in 1788 and established a colony in New South Wales. In the same century, British empire occupied the whole Australia for scientific exploration and collection of natural resources. Even a large number of British convicts were transported to the various regions of Australia and they made up a substantial percentage of the population in the various parts of colonized Australia. The Large-scale settlement did not occur until the 1850s, following a series of gold accumulation. Further waves of settlement happened after the First and Second World Wars, with many post-World War II migrants coming from Europe and other countries of The Middle East, Asia, The Pacific islands, Africa, and Latin America. Before European settlement, Australia was inhabited by various indigenous peoples-Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal Tasmanians, Torres Strait Islanders and Melanesians. Basically, a small percentage (approximately 2.8% of total population) of present-day Australians descends from these aboriginal peoples. The literary texts of them are considered as their voice of representation in Australia. Their literature also talks the bad effects of colonialism over them, which have destroyed both their human and natural resources (Abowd and Freeman, 386-87).

Part – II; Nationalism in Australia

The immigrant people had the sense of isolation and displacement, while they were living in Australia. But it exhausted and they mingled with the distinctive Australian cultural, geographical, historical and traditional components & heritage. On the other hand, colonial oppression over the Australian people was also an important reason, which developed nationalist feeling among the Australians. Thus, many anti-colonialist movements occurred in the last decade of the 18th century and finally, on 1st January 1900, Australia emerged as a new democratic & a sovereign country in the political map of the world.

Last two decades of the 19th century are reckoned as the era of the growth of nationalism in Australia. Since that time, a vast amount of literary texts have produced about the nationalism and transnationalism, Australian culture, dialects, heritage and history of the Australians. A weekly magazine “Bulletin”, used to publish from Sydney, had an immense contribution for the development of nationalistic and egalitarian sentiment in Australia in the last two decades of the 19th century. The writers of this magazine have depicted the experience and hardships of the ordinary Australians, especially the farmers and ordinary people in rural area. Further, it also deals with the literary texts which have an immense contribution to the development national consciousness, Australian identity with its own culture and traditions. The writers also depict the pictures of Australia’s landscape which they consider as their national heritage. Meg Tasker in his article (Two Versions of Colonial Nationalism: The Australasian Review of Review v. The Sydney Bulletin) says- 1885, the Bulletin became the journalistic voice of a stridently anti-English, anti- Imperial republican ism. The motto “Australia for the Australians” was not unique to the Bulletin, but it succinctly expresses a resistance to late-colonial imperialism that took various forms at different times, including republicanism, socialism, opposition to British imperialism. 

Part – III; Idea and definition of Nation/Nationalism

The term Nation is defined by many scholars and critics. Here I only discuss two famous critic’s definition and their ideas about the nation. According to Benedict Anderson, the nation is “an imagined political community- and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign” (Anderson-6). He argues that nation is “imagined community” because though the citizens of even a smallest nation will never know all their fellow citizens, though they cannot meet them or hear of them yet they imagine that there is an inherent connection among them.

Even the citizens of a country can never know each of the other yet they have an affinity and interest as part of the same nation. It is also “imagined community” because the concept of it was born in an age in which the enlightenment and revolution were destroying the legitimacy of the divinely dynastic realm.

He further explains that nation is “political”, because it has a democratic government. He says that the nation is also ‘sovereign’ and ‘limited’ because besides the geographical boundaries of a nation, the other nations exist. A nation gets its existence through the revolution against colonization and the decline of the divinely hereditary monarchy. The other nation doesn’t have the right to invade a nation.

Ernest Gellner defines the term, nation as “Two men are of the same nation if and only if they recognize each other as belonging to the same nation. In other words, nations maketh man; nations are the artifacts of men’s convictions and loyalties and solidarities. A mere category of persons (say, occupants of a given territory, or speakers of a given language, for example) becomes a nation if and when the members of the category firmly recognize certain mutual rights and duties to each other in virtue of their shared membership of it. It is their recognition of each other as fellows of this kind which turns them into a nation, and not the other shared attributes, whatever they might be, which separate that category from non- members” (Gellner-6).

Part – IV; Nationalism in Australian LiteratureIntroduction:

The churnings of Australian nationalism reached to the arena of journalists, novelists, poets, short story writers, mainly to the common man in Australia. They felt the urge of a national calling and unity. These elites started to find the ways to develop nationalist sentiment. Hence the literary and non-literary texts in Australia are produced from the last two decades of the 19th century. These literary and non-literary texts have depicted a panoramic view of Australia’s distinctive cultural, historiographical and traditional heritage & elements which have immensely inspired all the Australian to develop the national integrity and consciousness among themselves. The idea of nationalism is much reflected in poetry, fiction and in a short story. Here I am going to discuss how the idea of nation/nationalism has reflected in the writings of great Australian literary figures.

Nationalism in Australian Poetry: Henry Lawson (1867-1922):

Henry Lawson is one of the best poets and short story writers in Australian literary history. He used to write mainly poems and short stories in the late 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century about the tiresome life and plight of ordinary poor Australians in the era of British colonialism. His poems have inspired Australians immensely to develop national consciousness and identity in that period by depicting distinctive images of the Australian city, Australian bush traditions, culture and dialects. His poems also deal with the theme of British colonial oppression which affects Australians badly. Even he has used the language of ordinary Australians rather than copying the European English. ‘Australianism’ is the main features of his literary texts. Many of Henry Lawson’s poems talks about the freedom and social, political, economical, cultural development of Australia by fighting against British colonialism. In the poem, “At the Beating of Drum” (1910) he says-

He shall be unknown who writes it; he shall soon forgotten be,

But the song shall ring through ages as a song of liberty.

And I say the words and music of our battle hymn shall come,

When Australia wakes in anger at the beating of a drum.

In the poem, “To Be Amused” (1906) Henry Lason has depicted the picture of brutality of British colonialism. The poem explores how the British imperialists have destroyed the natural and human resources in the era of British colonization. According to him-

I see again with haggard eyes,

The thirsty land,the wasted flood;

Unpeopled plains beyond the skies,

And precious streams that run to mud;

The ruined health, the wasted wealth,

In our mad cities by the seas,

The black race suicide by stealth,

The starved and murdered industries!

Henry Lawson’s well-known short stories are- “While the Billy Boils” (1896), “On the Track” (1900), “Joe Wilson and His Mates” (1901), “Over the Sliprails” (1900) etc. His prominent poetry collections are-“In the Days When the World was Wide and Other Verses” (1896), “Popular and Humorous” (1900), “When I Was King and Other Verses” (1905) and so on.

Christopher Brennan (1870-1932):

Christopher Brennan is one of the eminent poets of the late 19th century. Most of his poems, especially, “The Bush” is giving importance to the internal sceneries as it arouses a sense of miserable prolapse of the fatherland. Brennan’s famous Poems “1913” (composed  in the 1890s) depicted one of the fundamental qualities of Australian writing. Especially in the matter of Australian poetry, composing, It has explored the nation’s unique, undomesticated, and often prognostic landscape which brings the sense of love of the nation among the Australians. In the last two decades of the 19th century, most of poetry collections were composed where the perceptions of the bush and of the rocky figures had immensely reflected. The bush tradition, in its distinctive divergence to the urban landscape, offered a symbolic source of endurance and renewal compared with the city as a site of depreciation and fraud. His famous poetry collections are- 1897 “XXI Poems”(1897), “ Poems” (1914), “A Chant of Doom” (1915) and so on.

Alison Whittaker:

“Lemon in the Chicken Wire” (2016), a collection of poems by Alison Whittaker, a Gomeroi poet from Gunnedah and Tamorth, northwestern New South Wales, which depicts the life of aboriginal with their particular cultural identities in a rural town. Her poems examine how the life of aboriginal people is developing in the rural area of New South Welles in the postcolonial era. This collection of poems also deals with the culture and society of aboriginal people which help to develop national sentiment among the Australians. Her famous poems are “Carry the One”, ‘‘The Double Mirror’’ and ‘‘The Body Country’’ etc.

Oodgeroo Noonuccal (1920-1993):

Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker) is an eminent poet and political activist for the aboriginal people of Australia. She published her first book of poetry, We Are Going (1964) as a first aboriginal writer or poet. Kath Walker’s poetry is considered as the voice of aboriginal people. Her poetry inspires all the Australians to fight for saving their own traditions and culture by developing unity among each person of the aboriginal community. Most of her poetry teaches us to be brave and keep self-confidence over our own views, works and discourses to confront with our foes. Her other collections of poems talk about the aboriginal rights, social justice, and conservationism. Kath Walker’s famous poems are-“The Past” (1970), “Municipal Gum” (1960), “A Song of Hope”(1960) and so on. In the poem, “We Are Going” she condemns European people’s colonization over the aboriginal Australians and “their old bora ground”. She criticizes the Europeans throughout her entire poem for their torture and exploitation of the aboriginal people’s human and natural resources.   Besides   Kath   Walker   is   denoting   the    imperialism    by    which   European civilization became developed, subduing and destroying the aboriginals on their ” old bora ground”. She says-

They came in to the little town

A semi-naked band subdued and silent

All that remained of their tribe.

They came here to the place of their old bora ground

Where now the many white men hurry about like ants.

Notice of the estate agent reads: ‘Rubbish May Be Tipped Here’.

Now it half covers the traces of the old bora ring.

‘We are as strangers here now, but the white tribe are the strangers.

We belong here, we are of the old ways.

We are the corroboree and the bora ground,

A B Banjo Paterson (1864-1941): 

A B Banjo Paterson was a prominent Australian poet of “Bush Tradition”. He composed many ballad song and collections of poetry which have focused the Australian life, especially the life of ordinary rural and backward people of Binalong, New South Wales districts. In which place, he stayed many years of his childhood. Paterson’s most outstanding poems include “Waltzing Matilda” (1895), “The Man from Snowy River”(1895) and “Clancy of the Overflow” (1889),”In Defence of the Bush” (1892) “The Man from Ironbark” (1892) and so on. The Man From Snowy River (1895) epitomizes the simple cadencies, nostalgic and sloppy subject matters, and classless viewpoint of the “ordinary man” out in the “Bush Tradition” that fascinated to the Australian literary flavours of the period. Paterson was also respectively remembered for the narrative ballad “Waltzing Matilda” which was considered as a Australia’s unofficial national anthem. The poem narrates a story of a thief who had stolen sheep and he attempted suicide to save himself from the cops. This poem is mainly famous for promoting the national consciousness and unity among the Australians because of using Australian slang and humorous language. In the whole poem, the poet used the Australian slang and irony to narrate a story of a thief (Blackwood-14).

“Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong

Under the shade of a coolibah tree,

And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled:

“You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me.”

This is the first stanza, where the phrase “Waltzing Matilda” is a slang, which could mean carrying a stolen property around the village by the thief.

Adam Lindsay Gordon(1833-1870):

Adam Lindsay Gordon was a prominent poet of late 19th century. “The Sick Stockrider”(1870), “Sea Spray and Smoke Drift” (1867), “Bush Ballads and Galloping Rhymes” (1870) from his Bush Ballads and Galloping Rhymes (1870) and so on are his notable collections of poetry. These poems give the message of comradeship and national integrity of the Australians. He is regarded as the national poet of Australia for his outstanding literary texts, ballads. The main theme of his ballads is horse riding, which became an Australian’s popular culture.

Nationalism in Australian Fictions and Life Writings:

The idea of nation and Australian identity not only reflected in poetries, but also in the life writings and fiction written in the last two decades of the 19th century. The life-writing and fiction narrative were considered as a medium of mainstream publishing breakthrough for both indigenous writing and many of the issues relating to aboriginal personality and history that the text addresses. Many Australian life writing and fiction have framed by a notion of national identity. Here we are going to discuss prominent life, writings and fictions relating to national sentiment and identity.

Sally Morgan (1951-): 

Sally is remembered for her famous autobiography, My Place (1987). This is considered as the historiography of the aboriginal people live in Australia. In this autobiography she discovers aboriginality in her culture and heritage. She also narrates the story relating to the advent of Christianity among the aboriginal people of Australia. In this life writing, Sally Morgan presents an incident that can be connected to both aboriginal and settled Australians. Here she explores history that requests both white and Aboriginal Australians to evaluate the past whether or not a correct Aboriginal history has been told in Australia. Morgan also counters the indigenous reader with the notion of learning their past and embracing aboriginal identity, even if it is hurting for them (Morgan,1987).

Miles Franklin (1879-1954):

Miles Franklin is one of the well-known Australian novelists of the “Bush Tradition” and culture. Her reputed novels are-“My Brilliant Career” (1901), “Some Everyday Folk and Dawn” (1909), “Old Blastus of Bandicoot” (1931), “Bring the Monkey” (1933), “All That Swagger” (1936), etc. Most of her novels are related to the themes of national consciousness, women rights and unproductiveness of bush life. Her most notable semiautobiographical novel, “My Brilliant Career” has regarded as one of Australia’s best feminist texts of 19th century. In this novel, Sybylla is the main protagonist confronts a diverse range of people, animals, and acquires techniques to approach them without any fear and hesitation. Sybylla also realizes the innate bond between female authorship, motherhood and class. Thus her writings work for the proper rights of women in colonial Australia. Her writings also give an outstanding idea for the modernization of female rights and education in the 19th century to build a developed nation. Her novels also teach us an outstanding lesson of keeping self- confidence and to be brave to confront any kind of problem and hardship.

Henry Savery (1791-1842): 

Henry Sarvey was a businessman and novelist. His famous novel, “Quintus Servinton” (1830) is rightly considered as Australia’s first novel. Basically, it maps the picture of English county life and of contemporary business administration, and then of prisoner life as experienced by an educated offender, a contrast, and complement to the Ralph Rashleigh picture of the criminal of modest birth and little or no education crumpled by brutality and physical toil. In his introduction, Cecil Hadgraft traces the Savery’s own uneven career – an astonishing sequence of sadness, happiness and miscalculations of his life. He was about to hung but within twenty-four hours he pleaded and farcically he was saved from the capital punishment. After that, he was sent to Australia with other 171 convicts. This novel is autobiographical because it deals with Henry Savery’s own life which inspired Australians deeply for its moral message through the experience of convict life. Before writing this novel Henry Savery had written the series of Sketches, “The Hermit of Van Diemen’s Land” (1829) which deals with the famous personalities of a British colony in Australia.

Besides these writers, many other writers, who used to write in Bulletin have also incorporated with the theme nation, Australian identity and “Bush tradition” and settlement. One of the famous Bulletin poets Bernard O’Dowd’s (1866-1953) “The Silent Land and Other Verses”(1906) is a famous work appreciated by the scholars. This work is about historical artifacts has immense cultural importance because Australians feel proud of it. His others poem    collections    are    “Downward?”(1903),    “Dominions    of    the    Boundary”(1907), “Poems”(1910), “Alma Venus! And Other Verses”(1921) and so on.

The stories of Barbara Baynton’s (1857-1929) collection “Bush Studies” (1902) also considered nationalist texts of the beginning of the 20th century. “Bush Studies” is a text of many tales written at the end of the 19th century. These tales explore the harsh and unforgiving lives of many women because of some man’s vulgar character. The tension between conventional and unconventional and the use of exquisite imagery of bush had made all the tales more interesting and exquisite. The stories also narrated the potentialities of isolation and violence of the Australian bush ridiculously. Joseph Furphy (Tom Collins, pen name) is considered as the father of novel in Australia. His best novel, “Such Is Life” (1903) tells his own life story humorously by using Australian slang dialect. It depicts the author as an ardent patriotic figure of late 19th century Australia. The novel also represented the author as a Christian Socialist and moralist and a man who is sympathetic to the nation as well as his own family. In this novel, Furphy also has spread the message humanity within whole Australia, which inspired Australians to develop nationalist feeling highly. His other literary works are-“The Poems of Joseph Furphy” (1916) “Rigby’s Romance” (1921) “The Buln Buln and the Brolga” (1946).

Conclusion: 

In conclusion, it can be said that the idea of nationalism and settlement in Australian literature appropriately conveyed by exploring Australia’s own distinctive cultural and historiographical, traditional and dialectical heritage & elements. Australian poets, novelists, Short story writers and autobiographers have an immense contribution to make Australian literature rich and classic by talking about, not only nationalism, but also colonialism, post- colonialism, feminism, modernity and humanism in their literary texts. After a profound study over the Australian literature, it has examined that Australian poets have a much more contributions for the development of national consciousness among the Australians by their poems, as the theme, “Nationalism” is much more reflected in the poetry than any other literary genres.

Summary :

This module is about the settlement and nationalism in Australian literature. It has many chapters to reflect the topic. The first chapter, “Settlement in Australia” incorporates how people from the world settled in Australia and formed as a democratic and sovereign nation. The second chapter, “Nationalism in Australia” deals with Australian nationalism and how it was developed in Australia. In the third chapter (Idea and Definition of Nation/Nationalism), the definition and important explanation have given to understand the term nation properly. The fourth chapter is the main chapter of the module, where I have talked many authors (poets, novelists, short story writers) to explicate how the idea of nation, settlement, colonialism, postcolonialism have reflected in their respective literary masterpieces.

Reference

• Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London: Verso, 1983. Print.
• Abowd, J. and R. Freeman. Immigration, Trade, and the Labour Market. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007, p. 386
• Blackwood, F. Waltzing Matilda. Sydney: Scholastic Press, 2006.
• Cochrane, Kathie and Judith Wright. Oodgeroo. St Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press, 1994.
• Eggert, Paul. A Convergence of Book History and Literary Criticism. Case-Study: Henry Lawson in 1890s Sydney. Textual Cultures, vol. 6, no. 1, 2011, pp. 76–96.
• Gellner, Ernest. Nations and Nationalism. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1983, pp. 6-7.
• Mclaren, John. Australian Literature: An Historical Introduction. Melbourne: Longman Cheshire, 1989. Print.
• Morgan, Sally. My Place. Queensland: Fremanle Arts Centre, 1987.
• Tasker, Meg. “Two Versions of Colonial Nationalism: The Australasian ‘Review of  Reviews’ v. the Sydney ‘Bulletin.’” Victorian Periodicals Review, vol. 37, no. 4, 2004, pp. 111–122. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20084032.
• Whittaker, Alison. Lemons in the Chicken Wire. Broome: Magabala Books, 2016.
• Wright, Judith and Henry Lawson: Great Australians. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1967.